Where We Work > Africa > Namibia

Namibia

Since its independence from South Africa in 1990, Namibia has developed politically and socially into a middle-income country, although one with wide disparities in wealth and access to resources. Yet, in rural and urban areas a majority of people continue to live in poverty. HIV prevalence exceeds 15% among adults, which strains an overburdened health system that has too few or inadequately trained health workers. Many health workers are also inefficiently distributed so they may not be working in the areas where they are most needed.

Since 2006, IntraHealth International has worked with the Namibian government and nongovernmental organizations, including faith-based health organizations, to expand the availability of HIV counseling and testing, prevention, and care and treatment services in Namibia. In addition to supporting specific health services, IntraHealth also aims to collaborate with Namibian partners to build vibrant institutions that can continue to provide high-quality, comprehensive services. IntraHealth also works with local partners to develop plans to strengthen institutions’ financial, human resources, and management systems and grow the technical capacity of these organizations.

Namibia Capacity Building for Country Owned HIV/AIDS Services program

Building on the work of the Capacity Project, the Namibia Capacity Building for Country Owned HIV/AIDS Services program is collaborating with local faith-based partners who manage a network of six health facilities and 54 outreach facilities to provide high-quality, comprehensive HIV prevention and care and treatment services, including:

  • Services to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission
  • Antiretroviral therapy for people living with HIV
  • Male circumcision for HIV prevention
  • Care for people with HIV and tuberculosis co-infection.

The program also supports HIV counseling and testing at health facilities and at free-standing testing centers, including by training health workers to offer and provide HIV counseling and testing for couples. Research indicates that the majority of HIV transmission in sub-Saharan Africa occurs between heterosexual partners. In an effort to help couples to reduce their risk of transmission, the program has helped provide testing and counseling to nearly 20,000 couples across Namibia since 2009.

In keeping with the direction of the United States’ Global Health Initiative, the program is also expanding its technical assistance to partners, including by working with them to create and launch a large, centralized database for information about pediatric and adult HIV patients. This database allows for real-time assessment of key health indicators and enables better program monitoring and evaluation. The program is also working to help integrate family planning and reproductive health services with HIV services and ensure clients are offered high-quality emergency obstetric care. This program is funded by USAID.

Building Health Information Systems

Under the Capacity Project, IntraHealth began collaborating with the Namibian Ministry of Health and Social Services to update the country’s human resources information system—which was largely paper-based—to a central, computerized system. This system can provide complete and timely data to recruit, hire, train, deploy, and pay health workers, as well as up-to-date information on their accreditations. As a part of this work, the project:

  • Launched the human resources information management system, developed and supported by the Office of the Prime Minister, to track and manage health workers
  • Connected the software systems of regional and local facilities and the Ministry of Health
  • Connected the Ministry of Health’s new software systems with other government ministries and the Office of the Prime Minister as well as implemented a state-of-the-art data center to ensure the security of the new software system.

Southern Africa Human Capacity Development Coalition

Through the Southern Africa Human Capacity Development Coalition, IntraHealth also assessed the staff needed to care for the more than 2,500 Namibian orphans and vulnerable children—many of whom have lost parents to HIV. Based on this assessment, the coalition developed a comprehensive strategic plan that offers short- and long-term staffing solutions. This work was part of a regional partnership funded by USAID and done in collaboration with the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare.

Past Projects

  • The Capacity Project (funded by USAID, led by IntraHealth)
  • The Southern Africa Human Capacity Development Coalition (funded by USAID, led by IntraHealth)

Contact

Pamela McQuide
Chief of Party, Namibia
264-61-303-799

More information is available in the country brief.